CAIRO — Egypt’s justice minister has resigned after raising a public uproar by saying in a TV interview that the children of garbage collectors are too lowly to become judges.

The comments on Sunday by Mahfouz Saber brought a heavy backlash on social media from Egyptians denouncing elitism and what some saw as the arrogance of Egypt’s judiciary, already under criticism for harsh sentences against government opponents.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said in a statement on Monday that Saber resigned out of “respect for public opinion.”

In an interview late on Sunday with the private TV channel 10, Saber was asked about charges of favoritism in the appointment of judges.

When he said appointments are made according to objective standards, the interviewer said: “So the son of a sanitation worker could be made a judge?”

“Let’s not go too far,” Saber replied. “With all due respect to cleaners and those above or beneath them, a judge must hail from an appropriate environment… Thanks are due to a cleaner who raises and educates his children, but there are other jobs that they can take.”

Saber’s comments sparked criticism on social media, and several groups called for his resignation. A group of activist lawyers, called Haqaniyah, demanded prosecutors investigate Saber on criminal charges of inciting hatred and violating the constitution.